Last Week in Self Storage

You’ve heard of .com, .net, .edu, .org, and .us, of course. You’ve probably even heard of .ca (that’s for Canadian sites) and even somewhat-obscure Internet addresses using .tv, .info and so on and so forth.

Now get ready for “.storage” as an Internet address.

The Las Vegas company XYZ.com LLC has registered .storage as what’s called a “top-level domain suffix.” with the folks who manage URLs. XYZ.com acquired the rights to the suffix from Extra Space Storage.

About 700 entities have already paid for the rights to use .storage and the company expects plenty more to follow suit, said Shayam Rostam, a director at XYZ.com.

That’s especially true as more and more URLs are being gobbled up that use the familiar .com and .net suffixes. It’s either too hard to come up with an inventive name using .com or .net, or too expensive to buy the rights to a name you like that already exists.

Casting Call

Think you’ve got what it takes to make a video commercial? Get your actors and cameras ready.

The company that owns the SmartStop self-storage chain has launched a contest for anyone to make a 30-commercial using the SmartStop logo and tagline. The commercial can use animation, jingles, stop-motion or live action.

“We are excited to launch our new video contest and open the door to boundless creativity from artists and free-thinkers throughout the United States,” SmartStop CEO Michael Schwartz said.

The winner gets a $10,000 grand prize.

South Beach or Bust

Good news for folks in the Miami area who need a place to store their stuff. A huge new storage facility is on its way.

A $20 million climate-controlled, eight-story facility, with about 100,000 square feet, will soon be under construction in the Little Havana neighborhood, between the Dolphin Expressway and Tamiami Trail. About 120,000 people live in this area, so there are plenty of people who will need to buy a storage unit there.

The project does not yet have a name, nor has the operator of the facility been identified.